How to Free Up Space on Xiaomi Redmi 8 Phone: The Complete Guide

Xiaomi’s Redmi 8 series has proven to be reliable, but its 32- or 64-gigabyte base memory can quickly run out of storage when used actively. MIUI’s operating system accumulates cache over time, and modern applications require more resources, leading to annoying notifications of space shortages. When internal storage overflows, the phone starts to run slower, app cameras freeze, and installing new programs becomes impossible.

You don't have to delete your favorite photos right away or delete important apps to solve this problem. There are many effective ways to optimize space, remove hidden debris, and redistribute data while maintaining device performance. In this article, we'll take a look at all the memory cleanup methods available, from standard system tools to advanced settings.

Memory cleaning is a process that should be done regularly to keep Android running smoothly. Ignoring storage overflows can lead to critical errors in system processes. Let's start by analyzing what exactly is taking up space on your device.

Storage analysis: What takes place

Before you start deleting files, you need to know exactly which data is the most important. MIUI has a powerful memory monitoring tool built in to see the detailed structure of the disk occupancy. Often users do not even realize that a significant part of the memory is occupied not by photos, but by the cache of messengers or long-deleted, but not cleaned files.

To start your analysis, go to Settings, then select Memory or About Phone → Storage. The system will show a pie chart where the color is marked by categories: apps, images, video, audio, etc. Pay special attention to the Other section, which often hides system debris and remnants of remote programs.

It's important to understand the difference between the app's data and its cache. Cache is a temporary file that speeds up programs, but it can be safely deleted. App data is your correspondence, settings and progress in games, deleting it will reset the program to its original state. Be careful when cleaning it so you don't lose important information.

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The “Other” partition in the repository is often inflated due to error logs and temporary update files, and its cleaning through standard means may not be available without third-party software.

If you see system files taking up the bulk, it may indicate an accumulation of error reports, which can be safely removed through debugging menus or special utilities, but in most cases, standard cleaning is enough, and regular monitoring helps to identify “voracious” applications that you do not even use.

Use of the built-in Security application

Xiaomi preinstals security on its devices, which is one of the most effective tools for system maintenance. This application not only looks for viruses, but also deeply scans the file system for junk files, large files and duplicates.

Launch the Security app and click on the Cleaner icon, which automatically scans the device and prompts you to delete temporary files, remnants of deleted apps and ad cache, a process that takes just a few seconds to instantly free up several hundred megabytes or even gigabytes of space.

• 🗑️ Cache Clearing: Deletes temporary files accumulated by the browser and apps without affecting personal data.
• 📦 Removal APK: Finds application installation files that are no longer needed after installing programs.
• 📸 Photo analysis: Helps you find similar or blurry photos that can be removed to save space.

After the standard cleaning, go to Deep Clean, where the tool will prompt you to delete large files (videos, archives), WhatsApp files and unused apps. Be careful with the WhatsApp section, as it may store important documents that you do not want to lose. Always check the content before confirming deletion.

Special attention should be paid to cleaning functions in social media applications if they are displayed in this menu. Telegram and Viber often save gigabytes of media files that can be removed directly from the interface of the Xiaomi cleaner, which allows you not to delete the applications themselves, but only to free up the space they occupy.

Cleaning the cache of messengers and social networks

Messengers are the main memory eaters on modern smartphones. WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber and Instagram store every image, video and voice message received in the memory of the device, and over time these files form huge archives that slow down the work of Redmi 8.

In Telegram, cleaning is most efficiently done through the settings of the application itself. Go to Settings → Data and memory → Memory Use. Here you can see the size of the cache and clear it with a single button. Moreover, it is recommended to set the "Storage Media" slider to "3 days" or "1 week" so that the application automatically deletes old files.

⚠️ Note: Clearing the cache in messengers does not delete your correspondence, but deletes the downloaded media files from the phone’s memory. They will be re-downloaded if you open the dialogue again, but in the absence of the Internet, they will not be visible.

WhatsApp is more complicated because it stores backups locally. Go to Settings → Data and Storage → Storage Management. You can see which chats take up the most space and delete media selectively. Often it turns out that 80% of the space is occupied by videos from multiple active group chats.

For Instagram and TikTok, there is no standard deep cleaning function inside the app, so it is better to clean their cache through Android settings. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps → Find the right application, select Memory and click Clear Cache. Don’t confuse it with the “Erase Data” button, otherwise you will have to re-enter your account.

Removal of duplicates and large files

While using a smartphone, duplicate photos, downloaded files and forgotten videos inevitably accumulate in memory. On Redmi 8, with its limited internal memory, every gigabyte is on the account. Manually search for the same files takes a long time, but the MIUI system allows you to do this automatically.

Use the standard File Manager Explorer or Security app to find duplicates. The Cleanup section often has a category called "Similar Photos" or "Dublicates." The algorithm compares images and suggests leaving only the best in quality by removing the rest of the copies, which is especially true for those who like to take serial pictures.

It’s also worth checking the Download folder. Browsers and apps often save installers there, PDF-Documents and pictures that the user forgets about. Sort files by size and delete anything that exceeds the size. 50-100 It's not valuable, and you can often find forgotten movies or archives.

Deleting the.thumbnails folder in hidden system directories can free up to 1-2 GB of space, since it stores thumbnails of all photos ever viewed. To access this folder, you will need to enable the display of hidden files in the Explorer settings.

Transfer data to memory card and cloud

Redmi 8 supports microSD card installation, which is a great solution to space shortage, and you can transfer all media (photos, videos, music) to an external card, freeing up internal memory exclusively for applications and systems.

To transfer files, open Explorer, select files in internal storage, click More → Move and select the SD card. Some applications, such as cameras or voice recorders, allow you to immediately save the path to the memory card in their settings, which eliminates the need for manual transfer.

• ☁️ Google Photos: Enable sync and Free Space to remove photos already saved in the cloud from your phone.
• 📂 Formatting: When you first install the card, it is better to format it as Portable Storage to be used on other devices.
• ⚙️ Camera Settings: Change the save path in the camera settings so that new shots immediately fly to the camera. SD-map.

Cloud storage, such as Google Drive, Yandex.Disk or Dropbox, also lets you unload your phone. Set up automatic upload of photos and videos when you connect to Wi-Fi. After successfully uploading files to the cloud, safely delete them from the phone gallery, knowing that they are accessible from any device.

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Use memory cards of class speeds at least Class 10 or UHS-I so that low recording speeds do not cause delays when shooting 4K video or installing applications.

Removal of unused applications and widgets

Often, the phone has apps that you haven't used in months, that not only take up space, but can consume resources in the background, audit the installed programs and ruthlessly remove those that are not useful.

Go to Settings → Applications → All Apps. Sort the list by size. You will be surprised to find that a photo editing game or app takes 2-3 GB. Click on the application and select Delete. If the system application cannot be removed, try clicking Disable, which will hide it and stop the processes.

⚠️ Note: Do not remove Xiaomi and Google system apps unless you are sure of their purpose (e.g. Google Play Services, MIUI This can cause the phone to work in an unstable manner.

Also check the desktop and lock screen. Live wallpaper and heavy widgets (weather, news) consume RAM and CPU time, which indirectly affects the overall speed of work. Leave only the most necessary widgets, and dynamic wallpaper is better to abandon in favor of a static image.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)